The Friday registration deadline is approaching for the first Paw-in-the-Door Golf Classic golf tournament, which will take place Sept. 14 at the Bath Country Club, 387 Whiskeag Road.

The event offers the chance for golfers to compete for trophies and prizes while supporting a local charity. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Bath-based cat rescue organization, Paw-in-the- Door.

The event was organized by Regan Reed in appreciation for financial help from Pawin the-Door, following her adoption of a 10-year-old Labrador retriever who required extensive veterinary care. Reed owns a pet supply store, Wags and Whiskers, in Bath. She has enlisted the help of fellow golf enthusiast, Cal Stilphen, also of Bath, to design the details of the golf match.

According to the announcement about the event, organizing the Paw-in-the-Door Golf Classic is Reed’s way of helping the organization that gave her dog a chance for a good life. The cost of the event is very reasonable and Reed said it will enable Pawin the-Door to continue its good work in the Bath- Brunswick area.

The nine-hole golf tournament will start at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 14, according to the Pawin the-Door Facebook page. There are four levels of sponsorship available: $500 is a major sponsor with logos on all advertisements and a banner over Front Street in Bath; $250 is a score board sponsor; $100 is a cart sponsor; and $50 is a hole sponsor. The cost is $40 per person, which covers the greens fees for nine holes and a cart.

All of the proceeds for the sponsorships and the majority of greens fees proceeds will go to Paw-in-the-Door. Reed said Tuesday, “Bath Country Club, is being extremely generous to us.”

According to longtime Pawin the-Door volunteer Jane Frost, the nonprofit, 100 percent volunteer-run and donation funded organization was started in 1986 by Patty Sample Colwell in Bath. Frost said the cat rescue has been helping people beyond the Bath- Brunswick area, reaching as far as Richmond where she lives, and as far as Portland and still farther. While primarily a cat rescue, the organization has occasionally helped dogs.

Frost said over the summer, Paw-in-the-Door took in many, many cats. The core eight-person group of volunteers has temporarily stopped taking in surrenders or providing spay and neuter assistance for about a month to catch their breath and regroup. The organization wants to make sure it doesn’t over-extend itself and that the vets it works with don’t take a hit as a result.

Since the downturn of the economy, Frost said, and as word of Paw-in-the-Door spread, she believes the growing number of struggling pet owners needing to surrender animals, or who can’t afford to take their animal to the vet for regular care, spay and neuter services or emergency medical problems, has ballooned.

It can also be expensive to adopt an animal from shelters, Frost said, adding, “We ask people if they can, to make a donation — and it can be paid over time — of $35,” which is a good deal for people who want to adopt a healthy animal that is ready to go.

Paw-in-the-Door runs about three garage sales annually and a silent auction party every November that serve as its main sources of income, in addition to independent donations. The organization needs volunteer drivers to take animals to vet appointments, welcomes people to help on a one-time basis or on more than one occasion with running fundraising events and making phone calls such as following up on adoptions.

Additional teams and sponsorships are welcome until Friday’s registration deadline. For more information on sponsorship opportunities or to register a team sponsorship, call Regan Reed at Wags and Whiskers at 443-3647 or email reganreed@gmail.com.

Learn more about Paw-inthe Door or donate by visiting http://pawinthedoor.org/wp/.